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The modulation of Th2 immune pathway in the immunosuppressive effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in a murine asthmatic model

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Abstract

Background

Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease that has a high prevalence nowadays, and seeking the means of relieving asthmatic symptoms is now an issue with increased importance. While mesenchymal stem cells have been demonstrated to display immunomodulatory effects, the effect of fetus-type mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on asthmatic symptoms in vivo have not been reported to date.

Methods

Female BALB/c mice at 8 weeks of age were sensitized by ovalbumin, and MSCs derived from Wharton’s jelly of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) were injected into the asthmatic mice. Airway hyper-responsiveness, lung eosinophil infiltration, cytokine level in splenocyte cultures and serum immunoglobulin level were measured. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine cytokine and immunoglobulin levels.

Results

This current study demonstrated that hUCMSCs attenuated both lung lymphocyte and eosinophil infiltration, and significantly decreased the concentration of Th2 cytokines interleukin-5 in splenocyte cultures.

Conclusions

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells have the advantage of being easily harvested non-invasively and are capable of rapid proliferation, therefore an ideal material for stem cell-based immune therapies. The current study showed that fetal-type MSCs were able to suppress asthmatic symptoms efficiently, and its immunomodulatory effect resulted primarily from suppressing the Th2 pathway in the animal model. This study suggested that hUCMSCs could be an ideal candidate for cell-based therapies of asthma.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by grants from the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC 101-2320-B-182-033) and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CMRPD1D0411-3).

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Pediatrics, Taoyuan General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan

      Chin-Kan Chan

    2. Hsin Sheng Junior College of Medical Care and Management, Taoyuan, Taiwan

      Chin-Kan Chan

    3. Division of Allergy, Asthma and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and College of Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, No. 5, Fu-Hsin Street, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan

      Ting-Chun Lin, Ming-Ling Kuo & Jing-Long Huang

    4. School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

      Ting-Chun Lin

    5. Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

      Yung-An Huang, Ya-Shan Chen & Ming-Ling Kuo

    6. Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

      Chia-Ling Wu

    7. Department of Gynaecology, Taoyuan General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan

      Huei-Yu Lo

    8. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

      Ming-Ling Kuo

    9. Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital and School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University and Hospitals, Taichung, Taiwan

      Kang-Hsi Wu

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    1. Chin-Kan Chan
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    Correspondence to Kang-Hsi Wu or Jing-Long Huang.

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    No financial support or other benefits from commercial sources was provided for this work.

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    Responsible Editor: John Di Battista.

    C.-K. Chan and T.-C. Lin contributed equally to this work.

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    Chan, CK., Lin, TC., Huang, YA. et al. The modulation of Th2 immune pathway in the immunosuppressive effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in a murine asthmatic model. Inflamm. Res. 65, 795–801 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-016-0961-y

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-016-0961-y

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